App Name: PhotoTrophedelic 

This week, I let my students try out the Photo Trophadelic app. I didn't challenge them with a specific project, but I showed them this app as part of my introduction to the 12 new ipad minis I will be utilizing next year. 

Follow me on Instagram!
@ nelliemaeii
I love using Instagram to show my favorite photos from school. 

Seriously, I used to haul my camera (with all the attachments) back and forth to school each day, just in case something photo-worthy happened. Then I would have to upload the photos, edit them...and then I could finally share them with the world on my blog....It took days....or even weeks...

But now, with my lightening quick iPhone 5, I have changed the way I capture special photos. Even though none of my students are on Instagram, its helpful for me as a teacher, if I can record their thoughts about their artwork right when as things happen...otherwise I forget their funny little stories or very insightful thoughts. Also, I think its kind of fun to think of their little drawings as noteworthy works of art, by adding a filter or changing the focus, it can help elevate the image to another level and make it more interesting. 

Here are a few favorites from my photo-feed. 

Art teachers: if you are on Instagram, leave your user name in the comments, I would love to follow you!!

The thing I love about Pinterest is that is is a visual bookmark system. I have thousands of 'pins'.

 I can use Pinterest at a glance to jog my memory or inspire a subject matter in a work of art that I have been thinking about. 

This year, I have started trying to use some animated versions of the books I read to my students. (I have also tried recording myself reading the books, so that when each class arrives, I can utilize my video and save my voice, using that time to set up or organize a few last minute things before I begin instruction.)

Some of the recorded books were found on YouTube. Our district just recently unblocked You Tube and it has been a valuable resource for many great videos. The thing I don't like about You Tube, is that there are often tons of other videos advertised on the sidebar, and sometimes those little thumbnails are not appropriate, in fact, they can be a frustrating distraction when the whole screen is blasted with them and I can't click off of there fast enough....its just enough to thrust my classroom management into chaos when I am transitioning between a short animated book, and a demonstration on painting, if someone in the classroom reads, "Gangnam Style Squirrel" on the screen, everyone is begging to watch....We just don't have time and if I haven't pre-watched the video, I don't feel comfortable showing anything I haven't previewed. 

By organizing all of my favorite animated books onto one Pinterest page, I can click on the video directly from my own 'content' and if the screen has a few other videos on the sidebar, I know that they are safe and appropriate because they are from MY selected links. This way of organizing content from other sites is one of the many things I love about Pinterest. 

I also use Pinterest as an inspiration for a certain subject. I can project one single page onto my t.v (or smartboard screen) and see tons of appropriate images of the subject we are studying if I know students might need lots of references. This is much safer than projecting an entire google search onto the screen for everyone to see. 

Do you use Pinterest in the classroom? What do you love or hate about it? 

Follow me at http://pinterest.com/nellie_mitchell/

Okay, I have a confession. I used to ALWAYS upload photos to flickr. Then I got busy. And I kinda forgot about my account. Then I got lazy and forgot to renew my pro account so a lot of my photos (hundreds!) were no longer visible. 

When I got an AppleTV device in my classroom, I realized that I either had to link my cell phone photo stream or my Flickr pictures to the screensaver if I wanted my own images floating across the sleeping television screen as a screensaver or a slideshow.

I realized that this was a great opportunity to use photos of my student's work as a scrolling gallery. Also, I REALLY did not want to use every image in my iphone photo stream....that could get weird, if my students saw all the things I randomly photograph on my phone (hello scrambled eggs, book titles, and my new shoes). 

I knew it was time to renew my Flickr account and start using it for REAL. And with the Flickr App on my phone, I can snap a picture, put it in an album and have it scrolling across the screen in just a few seconds flat. The screen saver and slideshow options on the Apple TV are in HD....and there are many different formats including a moving portrait gallery, sliding squares, and cascading tiles. 

Before, if I wanted to use a photo, I had to hook my phone or my DSLR camera up to my computer, upload every photo, organize them, and then upload them onto some sort of slide show. Now, it takes just a few seconds to do all that. This is handy if someone has a great idea in one class, I can snap a picture, upload it and show it off to the next class. 

Below, you can see two GIFs of the Flickr slideshow on the t.v. in my classroom. The t.v. is so new, the conduit hasn't been installed to cover the cords ;-) I used the app GifBOOM to make this GIF. 

Another thing I love about Flickr is that it has Creative Commons photos available for use in galleries. This is a great way to organize photos (that are not being used for anything else).....into a useable format.

Example. This summer, I am teaching a class about American History. I decided to focus on Abraham Lincoln. My plan is to show video clips, have a Lincoln photo booth, and my students will work in collaborative groups to make a large-scale painting of the famous president. We will look at examples from other artists who have made his image iconic. I am really excited about this project. Instead of 'stealing' a bunch of random photos from a google image search, downloading them to my computer, and spending time making a photo presentation, I just organized a few images of Lincoln into a gallery on Flickr. I can project that, along with any additional instructions in the classroom.  This will provide an opportunity for students to see a variety of images, compare and contrast various elements within the portraits, and use the gallery as inspiration for their own images. 

I will post images of the student work with more links later. 

Do you have an Apple TV in the classroom? Do you use Flickr in the classroom? 

Follow me on flicker at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nelliemaeii/

With my after school art club, I decided to attempt a collaborative mural. Since I have anywhere from 15-22 students in grades 1st-4th, and it is only one hour....I decided to create some line drawings on bulletin board paper for the students to paint. Had I spent more than one session on this, I would've had students design the murals, but it was one final hoo-rah for the year with each group, so I figured they wouldn't mind a little glorified 'coloring'. These murals turned out really awesome. I had some fabric designs and other inspiring images scrolling across my SmartBoard so that the students could look up for inspiration at any time. The murals look amazing hanging in the hallways.

I had pre-mixed 25+ colors.....students carried one jar of paint around the room and added their color to each mural a little at a time. Some of the older students went around helping me touch up the black outlines as the paint dried. I did have to spend a little time after the session to touch up the black, but it was worth it. Each one-hour session completed 5 murals....that is 10 large art displays in the hallways! The cityscape below was inspired by James Rizzi!

My district did something a little different with the technology budget this year and I was fortunate enough to order my 'dream list' of items I would want to implement if I could have anything I wanted. 

One of the things I was most excited about is the Justand Document camera stand. 

Using the Justand iPad Stand I can use the full sized iPad as a document camera!!! 

It allows me the freedom to do anything I would've done with my document camera, wirelessly, and from anywhere in the room (using an appletv, I can sync my ipad to the 55' flatscreen in my classroom). 

○ Display a novel or textbook so students can read along 
○ Demonstrate experiments so that all can see 
○ Film myself reading a book (and add sound effects in iMovie)
○ Demonstrate painting and drawing technique 
○ Model weaving, or clay demonstrations
○ Complete graphic organizers as a group
 ○ Go over assignments and tests
 ○ Show 3D objects ○ Show the construction of graphs
○ Model use of tools: color mixing, 
○ Demonstrate the use of editing marks 
○ Film Common Craft style videos


The Justand website has many more ideas here: iPadDocumentCamera
I am currently using the Stage App as my camera. This app was free and it does SO much:

Sketch, take notes, and add labels over live video
• Record video and audio (feature available as an in-app purchase)
• Dynamically present student work wirelessly using Airplay, or via a wired projector connection
• Store and share labels for later use—great for quizzes or whole-class review
• Annotate, mark-up and save existing photos, images and documents
• Easily switch backgrounds from video to picture to whiteboard/blackboard canvas
• Select from multiple pen colors and widths
• Simple and accessible interface, especially for novice iPad users

What apps do you use in the classroom? Do you have a document camera?

Here are a few ways I've tried to transform my space with lots of color and texture!

1. Paint. This may seem like an obvious way to transform a piece of furniture. Last summer, I painted my desk and my trashcan. It was a bold way to make-over something that was really plain. I also splatter painted another table (photo below), that I use for demonstrations. If something spills...it isn't a big deal. 



2. Paper mache. The lamp beside my desk is from Ikea. A few years ago my cat ripped a big whole in the side. It sat, torn and destroyed for a long time before I got the idea to paper mache the surface....which fixed the rip and created an amazing design. Everyone who enters my room marvels at the lamp. 
3. Fabric. I found an awesome cut of black and white material and I adhered a long strip of velcro along the top of the fabric and the top of one of my shelves. Now the material covers a really cluttered looking bookshelf. 
4. Mosaic. Below, you can see a dresser that I covered with mosaic tile. The drawers are a little heavy....but they are great for storage. The tile shards are actually from broken, glazed student-made pottery. Repurpose and reuse!

5. Tape. This white cabinet was a wonderful donation....its like having an extra counter-top that is the perfect height for student supplies, and the drawers are always a great addition to my ever-growing hoard of random materials. The front got a little dinged-up when I tried to move it....so I had fabric over it for a while, but it wouldn't stay in place so I thought I would try covering it with tape. This is a combination of electrical tape and colored art tape, I did put a coating of white glue over the top to help protect it. Below, you can see an installation that I did with electrical tape. I projected a line drawing on the wall and covered the lines with the tape. 

6. Decoupage. This particle board t.v. cabinet is awesome because it has wheels. I'm constantly changing its purpose in my classroom. I wanted to make it a little prettier, so I decoupaged a layer of wrapping paper on the surface.